The Basics and Flow of Meal Prep (Kitchen Day)

One day per week, my morning/afternoon is dedicated to Kitchen Day…the time I dedicate to meal prep. I focus on things like: bread, buns, rolls, mixes and seasonings, chopping veggies, washing and cutting fruit, breakfast prep for the week, pantry staples, etc.

I have found that if I take one day per week and dedicate it to cooking and meal prep, it saves me SO MUCH TIME both at breakfast and dinner time. And for me, that’s a game changer. If you want to know more about how I “schedule” my days, you can check out that in the Homemaking How-To ecourse I offer.

I usually post my After photo on Instagram and sometimes I do a tutorial up in the Stories. And without fail, every week. I get asked two things:

So, today I want to give you a basic guide of how I schedule the day. If you’d like to see an actual walk-through, you can check that out in my Instagram Stories.

First things first…

The first thing I ALWAYS do is start a batch of yeast dough – yeast dough will be mixing and doing it’s thang while you’re using the oven and stove top. By getting it started first, you aren’t going to be in the kitchen longer than needed, waiting on dough.

Make a list, and prioritize.

After I do those two things, I make a list. What’s on the list? Things that need to be used up and items I want to make. If I write it down, I can make a plan. I take that list and number it, based on what I am going to do it.

I like to start something in the oven immediately, like Baked Oatmeal or Blueberry Muffins. Why? Because your oven should always be BUSY. When your oven is BUSY, you are BUSY doing things that don’t require the oven. You use that in-between time to chop and mix. Then as soon as one thing is done, another is ready to go in. Let me give you an example:

My goal is always to be done by the time the bread comes out of the oven. That gives me a time of about 3 hours total to finish – and that is usually plenty of time. If I need to make additional yeast dough, that goes in as soon as my first batch of dough comes out. I just work it into my numbered list, based on what I am making that day.

Granola is a whole other beast. It can take 45-60 minutes, so you don’t want it taking up your oven time when you are baking oatmeal and muffins, etc. When planning for Granola, it’s my LAST item instead of bread. When my bread comes out, Granola goes in so that it’s my last task while I am cleaning up the kitchen.

Kitchen Day can go really smoothly when you go into it with a plan, but also know that any time you start with something new, you should show yourself GRACE and start SMALL. Just one hour of meal prep time per week can save your hiney later in the week.

Don’t underestimate a “small start.”

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About Stacy

Stacy is a Home Management Mentor, the author of two cookbooks, the creator of why-didn’t-I-think-of-that homemaking hacks, an expert on making real food taste lip-smacking delicious, and a Platinum Leader with Young Living Essential Oils. She loves butter, dessert, baking, organizing, and staying home with her husband and four hilarious kids. She believes if it's not easy, you won't do it - because she's lived it. She'll bring YOU the awesome so that you can get your home back into control. For tips and easy strategies, you can follow her on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the content above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase an item, I may receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Comments

Grocery day is my kitchen prep day. Yep, saves MY hiney every week! 😊 It’s a full day and let’s just say… I sleep well that night. 😁 It’s convenient for me to get home, unload the car (and 11 mouths do make a load), refill all the pantry containers, pull out all the almost empties and make granola/bars, quick breads, or other leftover-user-uppers, chop the salsa, freeze/use all the near-dead previous week’s produce, cook the meats, and so on, all before I have time to ponder the size of the task, haha! I’m happy to get it ALL done. My crew are “fresh bread snobs”🙄, so I make that as needed, not ahead.
Hooray for WAY less frantic last-minute in-the-kitchen time!!!

I believe God created you to be the hero of your home. You CAN manage your home instead of it managing you. That’s why I empower women with simple solutions for their homemaking needs – because if it’s not easy, you won’t do it. {Read More…}

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